Mouse Port Problem

My daughter called and told me that the PS/2 mouse port was not working on her computer I made her a few years ago. She tried a new mouse and then had one of her friends look at it. He told her it was not worth fixing it as it was to old. Here is my questions: (1) If I sent her a PS/2 to serial port adapter would the mouse work off of that OK? I've looked for a serial mouse in stores around here and could not find one. (2) Would I be better off having her use a USB mouse? With either would she have to change anything in the BIOS? I know that there is a setting in her BIOS if she uses a USB keyboard. Her system has Win 98SE, AMD K6/2-450, 192MB memory, pcpartner vib878ds baby AT motherboard. Has a open USB and 9 pin serial port.

 

Russ,

You may or may not get the mouse to work through a ps2/serial adapter. It's a bit of a gamble, but in my experience if the mouse does not specifically say it will work as a serial mouse it probably won't work through the adapter. Of course, some that aren't marked do work - either way, it's hard to find out unless you first get the adapter.

On the topic of a USB mouse, you shouldn't have to change anything in the bios as the mouse doesn't function outside of a graphical interface like Windows. In windows, the mouse isn't initialized until the OS starts.

If you don't wont to mess with the serial adapter thing you should be able to get a USB mouse to work. I think Logitech makes them for around $14-$16. You may be able to find a cheaper brand as well.

Cheers,

ICE

 

iceolated,
Thanks for your reply. Went with the USB mouse and it is working fine on her computer.